Countries in Asia, Africa and elsewhere have been distancing themselves from Gautam Adani, the Indian magnate, after accusations of bribery and conspiracy by American prosecutors.
Hours after U.S. officials indicted Gautam Adani, one of India’s most successful businessmen, on fraud and conspiracy charges, Kenya’s president publicly backed away from lucrative infrastructure deals with Mr. Adani’s companies to overhaul Nairobi’s international airport and the country’s electricity grid.
Days later, TotalEnergies, a European energy giant, said it would stop investing in Adani projects.
Now Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where India competes with China for influence, are rethinking their alliances with Mr. Adani.
For the past decade, the Adani Group has been the face of India-led development around the world. In India, it owns ports, power plants, mines, airports and even a TV station. The conglomerate is one of the country’s most valuable enterprises. Its ability to build, finance and operate highly visible infrastructure projects has made Adani an icon of corporate India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to expand its place on the global stage.
In the process, Mr. Adani became one of the richest people in the world. His brand spread, as few Indian companies have ever managed, to encompass deals in Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
That is all now at risk of unraveling.
On Nov. 20, federal prosecutors in New York’s Eastern District accused Mr. Adani of conspiracy to commit bribery and defraud investors, part of a sweeping indictment that took aim at several of his close lieutenants and family members. The prosecutors said that Mr. Adani and his associates offered $265 million to Indian officials to secure solar project contracts, then lied about the bribery scheme to Wall Street.
The Adani Group said the charges were “baseless” and that it would defend itself legally.
The shock waves from the indictment are still bouncing between India’s stock markets, foreign investors and the governments of countries that do business with the Adani Group. The group’s relations with international partners are under increasing strain.
